OVER 2,900 KURDISH FIGHTERS KILLED, CAPTURED IN TURKISH ARMY OPERATION IN NORTHERN SYRIA

  Thursday, 08 March 2018

source: shiitenews

More than 2,900 Kurdish gunmen have been killed or held captive by the Turkish troops in Afrin region in Northwestern Aleppo since January, the General Staff of the Turkish Army reported on Wednesday.
The army said that a sum of 2,940 Kurdish fighters have been killed or captured by the Turkish troops and allied militants within the framework of Operation Olive Branch in Afrin region.
Turkey’s Operation ‘Olive Branch’ kicked off on January 20 from air and ground in Afrin in Syria's Aleppo to oust the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has stressed that Turkish offensive in Afrin is part of Ankara's strategy based on supporting terrorists.
The Syrian government has condemned the “brutal Turkish aggression” against the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin, rejecting Ankara’s claim about having informed Damascus of the operation.
The General Staff reported on Tuesday that a sum of 2,872 Kurdish gunmen were killed or captured by the Turkish troops in Afrin region started on January 20.
The general staff further said that fierce clashes were underway between the two warring sides in Northern Syria.
Meantime, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister and government Spokesman Bekir Bozdag said almost half of the area that Operation Olive Branch aims to secure in Syria’s Afrin came under the Turkish military's control.